A Merry Little Christmas
by untapdtreasure
Summary: She groaned softly as she managed to lift herself up from the floor and hurried to the door so whoever it was wouldn't knock again.


Title: A Merry Little Christmas  
Author: untapdtreasure  
Rating: K+  
Summary: She groaned softly as she managed to lift herself up from the floor and hurried to the door so whoever it was wouldn't knock again.  
A/N: This was written for thousand-miless. I tried to include some of the things you said you liked. I hope you like this fanfiction.

Olivia felt overwhelmed as she sat in her spot in the middle of her living room floor. There were presents and wrapping paper strewn all around her. Plus, she was trying to keep quiet, so she didn't wake up a sleeping Noah. She had put off wrapping his presents from Santa until the last minute, and now she was miserable from a cold, or maybe the flu, that she almost couldn't see straight as she tried to get it all down. Her eyes were red and puffy as she wiped at her nose for what felt like the millionth time that evening.

Just as she was about to put the final piece of tape on the present that she had been wrapping, there was a knock at the door. She groaned softly as she managed to lift herself up from the floor and hurried to the door so whoever it was wouldn't knock again. She stuffed used tissue into her robe pocket just as she opened the door.

She hadn't expected company of any sort, but the person that was standing on the other side of her door was a pleasant surprise. Her mouth fell open slightly before she composed herself. Her reflexes were lacking because she was sick. She lifted the corners of her mouth into a smile. "Hey."

Rafael smiled as he lifted a coffee carrier with two to-go mugs fit snugly inside. He also held a bag in his other hand. His smile slipped as soon as he took in her appearance. "Liv, is everything okay?" He gently ushered her back inside and closed the door. The hallway of her building was cold and drafty.

"Me? Sure. I'm just peachy," she half-heartedly teased. Her eyes and body told otherwise. She felt him shift his bag onto the hand that held the coffee and gently place his hand on her lower back. "I've got so much to do," she grumbled. She hated being sick, but she hated anyone seeing her that way even more.

He shook his head. "Shh. Don't worry about that." As soon as they stepped into the living room, he saw the chaos strewn about her living room floor and sighed softly. "You get yourself settled on the couch." When he saw her start to protest, he shook his head and pointed at the couch. "Olivia Benson, get yourself on that couch right now. I'll wrap the rest of Noah's presents, and I want you to take it easy. No arguing. You'll only lose."

He moved her to the couch, insisting that she sit down. Once she was situated, he covered her with the throw that was on the back of the sofa and then handed her the to-go cup. "It's just the way you like it," he promised as she wrapped both hands around the still-warm cup.

It felt good to her hands. She'd had a chill most of the evening that she hadn't been able to shake. She looked up at him. "Really, Rafa. I can finish the wrapping." She felt him touch her forehead with his palm, knowing she likely had at least a small fever, but the look on his face told her that it was worse than she thought.

He shook his head. "Liv, just let me help. Please?" He sat on the edge of the couch close to her and met her eyes. "No offense, but you look horrible." When she rolled her eyes at him, he chuckled softly. "I said no offense."

She nudged him with her knee, almost unseating him and knocking him to the floor. She had to admit that it did feel good to snuggle up on her couch under a blanket. The thought of sitting back down on the floor made her wince. She sighed softly. "It's Christmas. I don't want to be sick," she grumbled as she sipped at the coffee, letting it warm her insides.

He put his hand on her knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I know, but it happens to the best of us sometimes." He met her eyes, holding her gaze. "You just rest while I finish up here and get the presents under the tree, okay? I'll even let you boss me around if you don't feel I'm doing it right." He gave her a wink before he pulled off his coat and hung it on her coat rack and got to work at finishing wrapping Noah's presents for her.

* * *

Rafael had gotten so lost in wrapping the presents that he hadn't realized that she'd stopped making small talk from her place on the couch until he'd placed the last piece of tape on the last present. "All done," he announced only to look up and find her asleep on the couch. She was lying at an awkward angle, but he didn't dare disturb her. She needed all the rest she could get. Noah would be up sooner rather than later, and she would be exhausted if she didn't sleep any at all.

He very gently shifted the blanket up higher so it covered more of her and eased a small throw pillow under her head so that she wouldn't have a kink in her neck when she woke up from the angle in which she had fallen asleep. He leaned down, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She was still too warm for his liking.

He seated himself on the chair across from the Christmas tree after putting all the presents snuggly around it and making it as festive as he possibly could. He'd come there to give her the gift that he'd gotten for her, and he hadn't expected to stay, but something didn't feel right about him leaving. So instead of quietly letting himself out, he settled down in the chair, using his coat as a blanket and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Olivia and Rafael were startled awake by the sound of Noah's excited proclamation. "Santa's been here, Mom!" That's when he spotted Rafael in the chair. His eyes went almost as wide as the grin on his face. "Uncle Rafa! What are you doing here?" He ran across the room and jumped onto the man's lap and hugged him tightly.

Olivia felt groggy, but better than she had last night. She could tell from the way she felt that the fever had broken sometime in the night. She rubbed at her eyes and face and smiled sheepishly across the room at Rafael.

Rafael met her eyes, smiling back at her. "Just giving Santa a hand. He's a busy man, and he had a few things he needed me to help him with, so here I am." He hugged Noah tightly and then helped him off of his lap. "Guess you've been a good boy this year. Look at all those presents!"

Noah hopped excitedly from one foot to the other as he moved closer to the tree to inspect the brightly wrapped presents. He fell to his knees to look under the tree. "There's a ton of stuff here!" He excitedly reached for the closest present and picked it up, shaking it before he turned to Olivia. "Can I open them, Mom? Please?"

Rafael moved from the chair to the couch so that he could be closer to the two of them. He wrapped an arm around Olivia's shoulders and pulled her close to him. "Yeah, Mom? Can he open them?" He leaned in, kissing her cheek. "Merry Christmas, by the way."

Now her cheeks were flushed for an entirely different reason. She rested her head on his shoulder and nodded. "I don't see any reason to wait. Go ahead." She didn't even bother to pick up her phone and capture the memories. She knew that this was going to be one that she would never forget. Something had changed between them, and maybe it would take many more holidays to explore, but she was ready and willing. No matter how long it took.

She lifted her head, tilting it toward him as their eyes met and held each other's gaze. "Merry Christmas, Rafa." Then he surprised her and pressed his mouth softly to hers in a gentle, lingering kiss.

Everything was merry and bright.


End file.
